[s1artibartfast]

>The industrial revolution had been decades underway before cheap oil, and would have continued if oil was never found in Pennslyvania. But cheap oil definitely helped speed it along faster.

That is certainly true. I meant using it a benchmark to extrapolate from. In many ways it seems to me that the industrialization at that time had a pretty negative trajectory, with a heavy basis in coal and brutal industrial towns. It is quite possible that we are living one of the best possible timelines from 1900.

[bumby]

I don't think the fuel type, but rather the labor and regulatory environment, was the driver of those conditions. We can't know for sure, obviously, but had oil been used before coal, I have a feeling those towns would still exist.

[s1artibartfast]

I agree that's probably a big part of it. Another interesting thought is that if we never moved off of coal we would probably have a lot more electrification and mass transit because call makes more sense in terms of centralized power generation. Sounds like the makings of a steampunk novella